Raising Hellbender
The Swamp -- Nebulos Beautiful flowers, dull grey skies, black water, and dangerous animals make this marshland a place of contrasts. Vehicles find it easy to get bogged down in the treacherous swamp. It is far safer to traverse it by air, if at all possible. However, some poor Nebulans come here to harvest peat as a fuel. Far above the surface of the planet Nebulous drifts the large and unarguably impressive shape of the Decepticon flagship as it cruises neatly into orbit about the planet. Anyone who was familiar with the ship...well, anyone who was familiar and currently outside the ship for some reason, would note that there has been a change. Four very large cranes, each sporting several clamps, have been attatched to the understand of the massive ship. The purpose of these would confuse the observer unless they had been inside, and heard what Scrapper was currently saying in the briefing room. Scrapper is standing in front of a large holoprojection screen, partially blocking out the image, as he explains his cunning plan. "We are going to lift the Hellraiser from the surface of the planet, but as we are not held in high regard by the locals, we are going to raise it up from space with the cranes which have been attached to the ship." On the screen the image changes to show the equipment just mentioned. Fulcrum is suitably impressed by the gigantic winch assemblies and crane towers, but something seems to be bothering the blacksmith. Finally he raises his hand (seems like the thing to do at a breifing) and voices his concern. "Question. Can't we just bombard the locals until their regard to us is an irrelevant detail?" Fleet scratches the back of his head. "For some reason we've had to tiptoe concerning this planet. Apparently the new recruits consider themselves partially from it, or /something/ like that," the Seeker answers Fulcrum, settling into his seat. "A bombardment would meet internal resistance. That might seem like much, but any delay could be enough to give the Autobots time to get here." Fleet transforms into his Fleet mode. Fleet totally did that as a robot. Scrapper turns to look over at Fulcrun as the other speaks, shaking his head, as he raises his arm to point at the holoscreen. The screen obediently changes to reflect the planet below. "In addition, Fulcrum, an orbital bombardment might cause further damage to the ship we are here to recover. The repair work will be complicated enough." Catechism smiles and nods as Scrapper makes his presentation. She's no Scrapper. She's not even a Fulcrum. However, she is an Air Commander, it pays to be informed or at least just read the reports. So she's able to answer, "The natives of this planet now represent spare parts for a small fraction of the Empire. It behooves us to leave a breeding stock alive. Also, their technology level is fairly high, and they know how to hurt us." Not one, but three answers! All good ones too. "Ah" replies Fulcrum, though to who in particular isn't clear. Shockwave arrives from Decepticon Heavy Warship . Shockwave has arrived. Scrapper turns around to face the projection screen again, pressing the control wand, which brings up an image of the crashed Hellraiser. "Luckily for this operation, the ship is still intact, but I cannot precisely state the stress the metal has been under. Therefore, we shall be having several flight capable soldiers monitoring the progress of the ship as we slowly lift it up from the surface. The soldiers will alert us to any potential problems, including involvement by the Nebulans." Catechism paces, hands behind her back, and continues, "The planet is now run by Llyra, the daughter of Zarak, Scorponok's partner. However, reports indicate that she and her father disagree on policy, so we cannot expect sympathy there. Also, the local fuel is poisoned, unusable to our kind, so we will need to do this mission hard and fast, to avoid contamination." At Scrapper's assessment, she barks, "So, who is with me? I'm going down there." Over at the navigation console, Shockwave beeps, indicating that he's completed a set of calculations. His translucent pink hand blurs over the controls, typing too rapidly to be seen, and the ship adjusts its orbit slowly. "The orbital mechanics calculations are complete. We are now moving into a geostationary orbit over the target. You may begin the operation, Chief Engineer." "I will be going with you, Air Commander" Fulcrum says, nodding at Catechism. "I will be able to monitor the metal for minute stress fractures during the lift. We should have plenty of warning should something go awry." Americon has arrived. Scrapper nods in answer to Shockwave as the other gives him the okay, before turning to face the projection screen. He presses a button on the side of the screen and instantly the face of a Decepticon gumby appears, looking expectant. "This is Scrapper; activate the cranes, and begin lowering them toward the planet. Keep the speed slow, and be prepared to cease function on my command." Fleet stands up. "Well, monitor duty is about the only function I can see serving on this mission," the Seeker states, approaching Catechism. Catechism is glad to have Fulcrum with her. The man knows what he's doing when it comes to a) not breaking things and b) repairing broken things. She looks over her shoulder at Fleet, shrugs, and notes, "You could see to the Hellbender's controls. You are a pilot, are you not? Some of it might be operational," but even Catechism sounds doubtful. That said, she makes for an airlock, to descend to the surface of Nebulos. Shockwave's head swivels towards Catechism. "I will accompany you, Air Commander Catechism. I will not be affected by the toxic fuel sources as I can power myself with atomic fission." Robotic Bald Eagle somehow appears on the scene. He was probably missed earlier due to his small size. Currently, he's looking, somewhat open-mouthed, at the projection screen. Fulcrum takes out his battered hand scanner and begins tapping at its interface, quickly reconfiguring it for the task at hand. "Ready when you are, Commander" he intones. Catechism wonders just how she screwed up here, that Shockwave's addressing her by her title. It's like when one is a little child and one's parents call one by one's full name. Her left optic twitches ever so slightly, and she mumbles, "It's an honour, Director." She's vacuum-hardened so that she can escort the Hellbender all the way back into space, hence her inclusion on this mission. Catechism transforms to her jet mode, which is quite astoundingly simple for the coneheaded model that she is. Shockwave is of course indicating that the down-planet part of the mission's success or failure will be attributed to Catechism. He presses the button and ejects himself into space. Shockwave undergoes an extremely simple transformation to become a giant flying space "laser." Outside and below the ship, the cranes begin to silently begin to lower themselves toward the planet moving slowly far below. Thanks for the miracle of automation, each crane boom is automated, and therefore all of them move in synch. Scrapper believes in eliminating the middle man, or middle bot in this case, and he watches the image on the screen with rapt attention. Shockwave pops out of the top of the ship with a puff of venting atmosphere, ignites his thrusters and descends towards the planet, scanning ahead with his delicate sensors. Combat: Shockwave initiates a radar sweep of the area. XF-35B Astral Lightning zooms out of the Absolution, shrugs off atmospheric heating as she streaks down, and does a long, slow turn to bleed speed, before taking up a loiter patrol above the Hellbender. She watches the skyhooks descend. Hopefully the Director or Fulcrum can tell her just how the hooks are supposed to attach. Fulcrum follows Catechism out, but doesn't bother to transform, instead heading out in robot mode and hitching a ride down on one of the skyhooks, just above the clamping mechanism. Shockwave fires retrorockets and slows his descent, transforming to touch down with a heavy clang atop the Hellbringer's dorsal surface, his head sweeping the terrain like a radar dish. Shockwave simply straightens up and rotates in a few places to assume his robot mode. Americon undergoes a patriotic transformation into his All-American robot mode! Fleet somehow or another gets to the atmosphere despite not being a space flier. Let's not think about this too hard. Fleet transforms into his Fleet mode. Americon decides to join the cool club, grabbing a skyhook of his own, wrapping his legs around the cable like a stripper might and yelling, "WEEE!" as he rides it down. Scrapper doesn't think about Fleet's amazing tale of survival as, at the moment, he is activating a comm channel to Catechism. "Air Commander, this is Scrapper. Are the cables continuing to lower in a satisfactory manner?" XF-35B Astral Lightning doesn't fly too close to the cables. Her wake turbulence might disturb their descent. However, her long range sensors as a jet are pretty decent, and she tracks them, reporting back to Scrapper, "Looks good. Pretty low wind out here. It's a swamp. Stagnant." She just assumes that Fleet tooks a shuttle or something to get down. Then, she adds, "But, er, Americon is on one of the cables. Is that within parameters?" "I detect no hostile presence," announces Shockwave. "We will progress to the next stage of the operation. Set up a defensive perimeter and affix the skyhooks to the Hellbender's main structural beams." Shockwave isn't too concerned about Americon. For one thing, he's surprisingly durable. For another thing Shockwave wouldn't mind if he died. "His presence should not affect the results adversely." Every now and then, Fulcrum fires his boot jets or nudges with his anti-gravs, compensating for his presence on the cable and guiding it down. "Nothing on this end either" Fulcrum radios. "Should be able to attach the clamps soon" Fleet flies low beneath the descending hooks, stretching his sensors both up, to watch the hooks, and down, searching for the Hellbender. Scrapper nods in answer to...someone. It could be Catechism, it could be Shockwave, or it could even be Fulcrum. It isn't sure. In any case, he activates the comm channel again and begins to speak. "The next stage of the operation will involve the placing of the clamps to the exterior hull of the Hellraiser. The process will occur automatically, but it is necessary that all Decepticon personnel examine the clamps to ensure they have connected properly. If it appears that any have not, inform me, and the correct actions will be taken. As Americon rides the rope down, he sniffs, nose crinkling. Is something burning? Nah, probably his imagination. Fleet has disconnected. XF-35B Astral Lightning flies over a bit closer to Fulcrum and transforms, hanging in the air. She looks left and right, and then she asks quietly, in the manner of a student asking for answers in a test, "So, uhm, where are the main structural supports, anyway? Y'know, to make sure that these things are attaching right and all." XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Quickswitch has arrived. "On the Hellraiser?" replies Fulcrum as they near the ground, the dour seeker letting go of the cable as it fires guidance rockets. "Standard overlapping rib structure. No real way to tell from the outside.. hnn.. well apart from the slightly thicker welds and... never mind. Don't worry about the positioning, I'll double check that they're in the right spot - better to check if the clamps are secure." "I will defer that question to Scrapper and Fulcrum as I would prefer not to pause in monitoring the perimeter until the Hellbender is off the ground," replies Shockwave, head revolving 360 degrees. "On the Hellraiser?" replies Fulcrum as they near the ground, the dour seeker letting go of the cable as it fires guidance rockets. "Standard overlapping rib structure. No real way to tell from the outside.. hnn.. well apart from the slightly thicker welds and... never mind. Don't worry about the positioning, I'll double check that they're in the right spot - better to check if the clamps are secure." The supports have broken through the atmosphere and have been steadly descending towward the ship. After much waiting they finally begin to press against the hull of the ship itself, two the front, and two to the rear. Scrapper recieves word of this and then turns to speak into the still open comm channel. "The clamps have reached the ship, but do examine them first before we engage the clamps! The less time spent making corrections, the better." Americon's last pose: As Americon rides the rope down, he sniffs, nose crinkling. Is something burning? Nah, probably his imagination. Catechism's last pose: XF-35B Astral Lightning flies over a bit closer to Fulcrum and transforms, hanging in the air. She looks left and right, and then she asks quietly, in the manner of a student asking for answers in a test, "So, uhm, where are the main structural supports, anyway? Y'know, to make sure that these things are attaching right and all." After all of that sliding down the rope, Americon looks down at his legs, finally, and discovers the source of the burning--himself! Crying out in alarm, he furiously pats at his legs, blowing on them desperately to put it out, but it's to no avail! "Oh, geeze, this is what I get replacing my leg armor with magnesium plating!" he cries. Fortunately, though, once the clamps engage, the reverberations travel up through the rope, easily flinging Americon into the waters of the swamp, extinguishing the--oh, right, the magnesium will convert the water to hydrogen and continue to burn. "YEEAGH!" Americon screams as he sloshes through the waist-high swamps, his legs appearing to glow a bright orange under the surface of the water. Catechism nods to Fulcrum. Check that the clamps are secure? She can do that, she hopes. Catechism glances over at where Shockwave is doing monitor duty. Better his eye on the prize than most. She raises an optical ridge as Americon continues to be on fire and manages to still be on fire underwater. She mutters, "That is... impressive in all the wrong ways." Of course, they dare not speak of fire retardant foam. Fulcrum's boot jets roar as he arrests his downwards momentum, once more pulling out his hand scanner, moving from clamp to clamp to check that each of them are positioned correctly. "Check.. check.. check.." he relays, also sending back to Scrapper the location of each of the units he's confirmed. Meanwhile, Quickswitch is standing up to his knee-joints in a peat bog some distance away. The beast is in fact querying one of the destitute Nebulans there to collect peat to burn. "Those any of yours?" he spits out gruffly to her. Oskira shakes her head, and Quickswitch turns away with a sneer of relish. "Good," he rumbles under his breath, before transforming to his hovercraft form, and skimming closer to the location of the Decepticon recovery effort. He cuts his engines a considerable distance away, and slips behind the cover of a set of moss-covered cypress-like trees. "Beware," intones Shockwave gravely, eye flashing. "A vehicle is approaching at high ground speeds, bearing 216 degrees. It is not broadcasting a Decepticon friend-or-foe signal." His cannon glows faintly as he directs power to it. "Accelerate your execution of the operation stage that we may progress to stage three: extraction." He swivels his torso in that direction, staring fixedly. "It has stopped moving. Do not engage. Let it come to us." Back up on the ship Scrapper has been keeping busy, calculating the safe rate of ascent for the Hellbender, but stops his calculations briefly as Shockwave mentions an unknown vehicle approaching. He studies the schematic of the top of the ship, the boxes which reprsent the clamps turning green as Fulcrum checks in. "Hmm...this could mean trouble is on it's way." He turns to the communicatior and speaks more loudly in it's direction. "We are going to commence raising the ship. Someone, enter the ship and try to activate some of the bridge systems. It may provide added combat options." A couple of factory issue Seekers, a tape... might not be too bad to take. Quickswitch transforms back to his feline form, movements achingly slow to keep from splashing too loudly, and then curses under his intake when the rest of the complement shows itself. A not-so-factory issue Seeker with a rep for bludgeoning things, and a "Big ugly purple glitch," Quickswitch utters quietly, optics narrowing to suspicious slits. He backs up very slowly, and then flanks the ship extraction, wedging himself through the thicket. The path will eventually arc around, and if he is not detected, eventually obscure him behind the bulk of one of the ship's wings. Decepticon Heavy Warship Ugly and squat, the Hellbender is above all a functional warship. No account has been made for aesthetics - the armor is an ugly greyish-brown, crudely but powerfully welded plates protect every single gun emplacement, and of those there are many. The fore of the ship ends in a dome where the command deck lies, whilst the engine compartment is a large, flat lasertron accelerator. Two stubby landing feet on either side complete the picture of this war machine. Americon practically sobs, "Why isn't water putting it out? That doesn't make any sense!" He runs through the swamp, arms flailing and legs sloshing through the muck, possibly passing by Quickswitch without being aware of it. Eventually he spies a wagon-full of peat moss, and thinks aloud, "If water doesn't work, then maybe I can use that dirt to smother it!" And so, he tosses himself in. The wagon is in flames in seconds. Assault Beast freezes as Ghost Rider whizzes past and immolates Oskira's entire month's worth of pay. "Don't look at me" Fulcrum replies out loud to Scrapper's message, glancing around at the other Decepticons. "I don't know how to fly a spacecraft. Service, yes. Fly, no." Catechism looks around nervously. She also has no idea how to fly a spaceship. "Uh... maybe Americon does? But he's on fire." Catechism chews her lip thoughtfully. "I will do it," says Shockwave, walking over to a hatch. "Be on your guard for the possible hostile while I am below." Shockwave boards Decepticon Heavy Warship . Scrapper orders the cranes to be engaged, causing the ship to be hauled slowly out of the stinking mire, as Scrapper speaks into the comm channel again. "Piloting is not what I had in mind. I want to know if any useful systems can be activated." Pinning his left ear against his cybernetic skull at the sounds behind him, Quickswitch ignores the woman's sobs and the now mostly-absent tape. As Shockwave enters the ship, he ever so slowly creeps forward, the dimming light of the swamp reflecting off his optic foveas. If he was to strike, this would be the time... he tenses up, anxiously sizing up the Constructicon's progress. A half-second later, he bears out Shockwave's earlier warning. A blur bursts forth from the underbrush, and with a horrific screech of grizzly claws, he punches forepaws into the hatch that Shockwave entered, rending and twisting metal into a makeshift barrier. "Leave this wreckage to the swamp, Decepticons!" he bellows out boldly. Quickswitch says, "Any Autobots in the vicinity of Nebulos, I have found a crew of Decepticons attempting a recovery operation on a warship. Shockwave is present. They... know I'm here." The gruff voice of Crosshairs gruffly responds: "Damaged from yesterday's actions. Can't be much help yet." Crash inexplicably in the vacinity, "Ohn my way." Catechism rather wishes that Shockwave was outside, rather than inside, because the thing about Wreckers is... there is rarely just one. Quickswitch may be visible, but Whirl could be off behind that hill there, setting up that gun. Springer could be creeping through the reeds. However, even if there is just one, Quickswitch is a formidable one. She calls to Fulcrum, "Stay back and mind the clamps." Then, she flies toward Quickswitch and calls out, "Actually, Decepticon warships tend to be full of many hazardous substances! We're doing the planet a favour by taking it away." Yay PR BS. "!" emits Fulcrum, a difficult linguistic feat. He nods curtly to Catechism as she heads to intercept, taking his hammer from the chain at his hip and holding it loosely in one hand, ready to defend the clamping mechanisms should the horrible six-changer decide to lurch this way. Crash has arrived. Americon bursts out of the wagon full of flaming peat, looking grumpy as he plops back down into the water, legs still flaming. "Well, THAT didn't work," he grumbles. Noticing a Nebulan woman sobbing, he approaches and says, "Aww, what's wrong?" "You destroyed the peat I was going to sell on the market!" screams Oskira. "What am I going to do now?" "Oh, sorry about that," Americon says apologetically. "Let me get you some more. After all, it's the least an American can do." He scoops up some more moss from the swamp. Americon tries to hand it over to Oskira, smiling, but the moss soon alights in his hands, and the woman flees in terror. "Dammit!" Americon says, throwing the burning peat away. "Women these days! You can NEVER tell what they want! Makes me want to kill someone--" And then he just so happens to hear Quickswitch threatening his fellows, and grins. "Oooh! Is that someone being heroic? Perfect timing!" He sloshes back to the Hellbender, glowing all the way there. Removed from all the excitement going down below, Scrapper is continuing to keep an eye on the cranes as they keep hauling up the Hellbender. "The stress levels are within normal tolerances...atmospheric friction is not a risk at this elevation...Americon, do not approach those cables!" Assault Beast hunches shoulders, gaze baleful as Catechism approaches and speaks. "Diplomatic of you, but shame on me for thinking that Decepticons wouldn't be -deceitful-!" With a supple twist of his spine, he side-steps, leaping into the air and transforming. When he comes back down, it's tread-first in Fulcrum's face. "HEY TURKEY-BUTT!!" he calls out, tauting Americon even as he wipes his drill-tank feet on the Russian Seeker. "Why don't you come over here to help your buddies see what they're doing?!" An expeditious set of origami folds results in a sturdy drill-tank, ready to pierce heaven. Combat: Drill Tank strikes Fulcrum with his Kick attack! Combat: Crash sets his defense level to Neutral. Catechism reasons that Fulcrum is much smarter than she is and is therefore better equipped to deal with clamps, whereas it doesn't particularly matter if Quickswitch beats her head in - she keeps nothing of consequence inside it. Catechism hangs in the air, flitting near to Quickswitch, but not too near. She watches the flaming Americon with morbid curiousity. Catechism tilts her head to one side and asks, "What, so I'm lying, we're all dirty tree-hugging hippies over here, under the 'Yay Galvatron' banner?" She then tries to flit back and grab Quickswitch to get him away from Fulcrum. Broadside says, "Also it is more fun to have stat damage affect different systems because it influences people to play it as injury to this or that specifically." Combat: Catechism strikes Drill Tank with her Grab attack! Combat: You took 0 damage. Chris Crosshairs says, "I agree totally. ;)" Fulcrum bites off a curse, as Quickswitch transforms blindingly fast, catching him off guard despite his readiness. "You're not making any SENSE" he growls, waving his hammer as Catechism goes for the grab, his burning sickle suddenly appearing in his other hand in a totally sneaky attack. "What is a Turkey?" The hatch Quickswitch mangled shut deforms outwards with a resounding BONG as something hits it very hard from the inside. Combat: Fulcrum strikes Drill Tank with his Burning Sickle attack! Combat: You took 9 damage. Combat: Fulcrum's attack has damaged your Velocity! Combat: Fulcrum's attack damages your armor. Americon finds himself conflicted. Scrapper told him to stay away, but Quickswitch wanted him to come closer. "Damn, what do I do?" Americon says, frowning as he ponders this dilemma. "Who is a turkey?" Americon growls lowly. Then, he transforms into bird mode, flapping his flaming wings in the air! "I *AM*... not. But the national bird was almost a turkey, so Quickswitch was CLOSE!" It should be noted that he is providing plenty of illumination for everyone from his current position. Americon's robot legs pop out metallic feather-like objects as they and his lower torso split apart, also revealing an eagle head. The arms and robot head join the main body, and his guns convert into tail feathers and rocket launchers. Americon is now a bald eagle! Something is trudging and marching through the swamp, something, large, muddy, and a little bit grumpy. It's no enviornmental defender however, it's just Crash after a few trips into a mud pit here and there. He trudges into view, rifle at the ready only to hang back for a moment in order to see what exactly was going on. The conehead's feeling up the tank, the other seeker's jealous and beating up the tank.. and Americon is simply flaming as he watches on. There's some cranes, clamps, and something really loud that wants out a door. "Yeah, this is ending /real/ well..." Thankfully, it's only one Autobot, and so the Hellbender has continued to ascend umolested thus far. Scrapper orders that the speed of the winches be increeased as the ship approaches the upper atmosphere. Quickswitch says, "-GRRRuun! OOF!- Well, if any of you care to join, do me a favor and cut this ship loose from the excavation ship before they make it out into space, will ya?" With the second BONG the hatch bursts outwards as a glowing red fist punches it out from the inside. The hand grasps the edge of the torn hatch and pulls... Shockwave arrives from Decepticon Heavy Warship . The steel of the drill-tank's treads bite down in satisfying caterpillar patterns against Fulcrum's sturdy armor. However, the sensation is abruptly cut short as Quickswitch's world tilts, and then suddenly inverts as Princess Dian-- err, Catechism hoists him in the air. His red drill spins futilely in the air, "What's this?!" but is interrupted by the tremendous, crackling -WHRACK!!!- of an armor-shattering blow from Fulcrum. "/TEAMWORK?!/ Ha ha ha! Looks like you guys CAN manage to do something right after all!" He transforms into robot mode, and takes advantage of any leverage from his shape-shifting to clutch Fulcrum's hammer between beefy fists. If this works, there will be a mighty heave-ho, with the intention to fling the olive and dark grey Seeker into the light grey and slate blue digitical camo Seeker. With a flurry of red, green, and white panels, Quickswitch arises in robot form! Combat: Quickswitch sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Quickswitch strikes Catechism with his Quickswitch Blitz Area attack! Combat: Quickswitch strikes Fulcrum with his Quickswitch Blitz Area attack! Shockwave climbs out onto the surface of the Hellbender, levelling a finger imperiously at Quickswitch. "Do not permit the Sixchanger to damage the skyhook cables. Focus your fire. He must be stopped." "Whup!" is all that Fulcrum manages to say as he's suddenly grabbed and flung at Catechism. Needless to say he was not expecting this at all, so it's going to take him a few minutes to work out what the hell just happened, and also which way up he now is. Combat: Fulcrum takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Shockwave undergoes an extremely simple transformation to become a giant flying space "laser." Combat: Shockwave analyzes Quickswitch for weaknesses Fulcrum can exploit. Catechism takes a hefty hit as Fulcrum is flung into her. She needs to take some time to get away from Fulcrum, scrambling to re-orient herself. Catechism yelps, "This is not the useful kind of togetherness! Americon, get Quickswitch away from the cables!" Combat: Catechism takes extra time to steady herself. Pass Scrapper rapidly brings up a schematic of the ship as an alarm sounds, focusing on the now busted airlock door, before he recieves Sockwave's tranmission. He turns and quickly switches comm channels to speak to the crane operator. "There is unexpected interference. Speed up the elevation to the safest possible speed; we must get the ship to a stationary orbit!" While Scrapper may have told him to stay away from the cables, Shockwave told him to stop the six-changer, and since Shockwave outranks him, Americon decides that, yes, now is the time to approach the Autobot and attack. He rears back a wing as he zooms in, crying out, "FAAAALLLLCON... PUUUUUNNNNCH!" Flames shoot out from his wing as he strikes, but that's no surprise, as they were already on fire. Ooh, Catechism also gave him the go-ahead. Awesome. Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle misses Quickswitch with his Falcon Punch (Punch) attack! Crash had his orders attempting to remain out of Decepticon sight, Crash crouched low and depolyed his shoulder-guns, allowing them to swivel and snap into place befor he begain to take aim at the ship and it's tethers. He was about to fire when he saw Shockwave.. the mech that had him wheeling around The Ark in a chair for weeks... Not pretty memories. He shakes the chill in his robo-gut and gets back to buisnes. From the bushes there is a eruption of automatic gunfire, Crash opening up both guns and flinging cybertronian lead up and at the clamps that are anchored to the Hellbender. Smelt, Shockwave was on deck again -- that stalling method didn't last for long! Quickswitch makes the best of the situation as the Seekers reorient themselves, and rears back in a fine limbo move to evade the flaming wing slash from Americon. "Glad you could make it before I left, Americon. Now, c'mere." Holstering his photon blasters he lunges at the fulminous tape, aiming to grab him and shove him in the nearest hitch receiver clamp, screaming as his gauntlets are engulfed in magnesium flame. Would this make his efforts worthwhile? Combat: Quickswitch misses Robotic Bald Eagle with his Grab attack! Shockwave hovers over the gradually rising Hellbender, gliding upwards at the same speed at which it rises into the atmosphere on the skyhooks. His barrel gleams as he begins to build up power, locking onto Quickswitch... Combat: Shockwave analyzes Quickswitch for weaknesses Shockwave can exploit. Fulcrum shakes his head to clear it and assesses the situation. A rampaging six-changer, and.. there's fire coming from somewhere else as well. That may have to wait, as Fulcrum only has a small window of opportunity while Quickswitch is distracted and he can act on the information beamed to him by Shockwave. Unless that moment has already passed due to the...!pass. Transforming, Fulcrum leaps into the air, a SMRT missile corkscrewing towards Quickswitch's back Fulcrum's joints screech as his body reconfigures itself into a green MiG-29. Combat: Fulcrum sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: MiG-29 misses Quickswitch with his SMRT Missiles attack! One might ask themselves, at this point, "Shouldn't Americon still be in a lot of pain?" Actually, no. He's already burned out his pain receptors, so now, really, he only feels uncomfortably warm. The flaming tape pecks ANGRILY at Quickswitch's hand as it comes too close. "Hey! Hands off, buster! Don't tread on me! With your fingers! And stuff." Peck peck peck! Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle strikes Quickswitch with his Falcon PECK attack! -1 Combat: You took 3 damage. Catechism tries to throw herself in the way of Crash's shot. A battlecruiser, even a wrecked one, is worth an awful lot more than she is - Seekers are a dime a dozen. (Why else would they make so many, if they weren't cheap?) The other Decepticons can deal with the Wrecker - she just feels vindicated for worrying about there being more than one Autobot here. Scrapper would be tearing his hair out...if he had any hair, or if he was anytihing less then a professional, as he sees Crash beginning to open fire on the clamps holding the Hellbender. He turns to the handy wall communicator again, keyind in a different code, as he opens a channel to weapons control. "Begin suppressive fire, but do not use the main batteries. We cannot have the Hellbender damaged!" Hearing the more then usually no nonsense tone from Scrapper the Deceptagumby nods, salutes, and begins barking orders. The end result is that several anti meterorite lasers begin powering up on the hull on either side of the Hellbender and begin firing down roughly in Crash's direction. Combat: Crash compares his Accuracy to Catechism's Agility: Failure :( Combat: Crash strikes Catechism with his Shoulder Guns attack! Laser fire starts coming UP from the ground, announcing Crash's arrival to the scene. "Good mech," Quickswitch growls out, before his attention turns back to the Decepticons. He hits the deck to the right of the incoming missile as it detonates on the surface of the warship to his left. Americon -- both his magnesium fire AND the vicious diamond-edged beak of the tape -- do a number on Quickswitch's armor, and with a sharp growl, he takes this battle to the skies. With a fierce growl of single engine, the Cybertronian jet swings out wide, and then turns its ugly square-shaped intakes and grizzled maw towards the salvaged ship. With skies darkening as the atmosphere thins, his motions become more erratic, desperate. He reams the superstructure of the ship. Rocket booster engines roar to life as this Cybertronian speedily morphs into a sub-orbital jet! Combat: Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet strikes Decepticon Heavy Warship Hellbender with his Ram attack! Combat: You took 3 damage from that attack. No dice, Crash's shots find nothing but seeker. Normaly the blue galoot would be happy to shoot up a Seeker but this was one of those rare cases where he wasn't. He tries to take aim once more only to have something rain down from above and strike him painfuly in the shoulder, ruining one of his weapon mounts and making him wonder just what kind of planet is jacked up enough to have laser rain! A glance upwards assures him that it is not at all a atmospheric activity, but rather something far more annoying. Hastily, he up-rooted himself and scooted on out of the hail of lasers. Now out in the open, Crash catches sight of Shockwave taking aim with... himself... He remembered what it could do, didn't want to see it done to someone else. Drawing out a long, long length of chain, Crash whirls it around, building momentum and taking aim befor he throws it skywards, going for that long cast in hops of hooking a purple bass. Combat: Crash strikes Shockwave with his Wrecker Hook attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Shockwave's Agility. (Crippled) "HEY!" the MiG broadcasts, swinging around to intercept the weird spaceship that's smashing into the Hellbender. "Stop.. doing that!" Not his best comeback, but fighting Quickswitch is so irritatingly unpredictable. What's he going to do next? Well hopefully he's going to get hit by two beams of pure heat. Combat: MiG-29 misses Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet with his Heat Ray attack! Catechism manages to take the hit, and punches a neat hole through one of her wings. Her lines autoseal, but that'll burn rather painfully when she leaves the atmosphere, she knows, so the Seeker curses under her exhaust. Catechism groans in dismay as Quickswitch runs into the Hellbender. Whoops. Scrapper can fix that, right? It looks like Crash is distracted by the Director, so steals an idea from the Autobot and draws her whip, looking at the Wrecker speculatively. She casts it, hoping to draw him away. Robotic Bald Eagle yells, "NOOO!" as the Hellbender takes fire! He flings himself in front of Quickswitch's strafing fire, wings spread wide as he tries to absorb the hits meant for the ship! Alas, he is a small target, so he might not do much good! Combat: Catechism misses Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet with her Whiplash Whirlwind attack! -4 Combat: Americon sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Scrapper looks up at another warning light shows on the Hellbender schematics, broadcasting the results of Quickswitch's attack, before he glances at the readouts for the cables which haul the ship. No damage. Now would be the time for a sight of relief, if he could do that, and he orders the weapons section to keep up the ground suppressing fire. Hopefully that'll allow the others to focus on Quickswitch; the ship has nearly cleared the atmosphere. "Your imminent destruction, Quickswitch," declares the orbital bombardment laser as his capacitors sizzle up to full capacity and prepare to discharge, "is the only logical outcome of your foolhardy gambit." Radioactive steam flashes from Shockwave's vents, power flares down the hose connecting his capacitor bank to his secondary reaction chamber, and a brilliant, coruscating beam of energy slices out towards Quickswitch just as a hook comes sailing up to snag him and tug him sideways. The beam sears past Quickswitch, slices through one of the cables and part of the Hellbender, a chunk of the ship the size of a bus sliding away and tumbling towards the ground as Shockwave's beam swings wildly through the sky towards the ground. Combat: Shockwave sets its defense level to Fearless. Combat: Shockwave strikes Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet with its Shoxcannon Area attack! -4 Combat: You took 25 damage. Combat: Shockwave's attack has corrupted your Firepower systems! Combat: Shockwave strikes Robotic Bald Eagle with its Shoxcannon Area attack! -4 Combat: Shockwave strikes Decepticon Heavy Warship Hellbender with its Shoxcannon Area attack! -4 Combat: Shockwave misses Crash with its Shoxcannon Area attack! -4 Scrapper has to balance himself as he feels the ship rock as Shockwave fires, sending an as yet unindentified piece of the Hellbender tumbling back down toward the planet. He glances at the holo display again before firmly pressing the button that communicates to Shockwave. "Shockwave, what is the meaning of this? You may have crippled this vessel!" THOOM. A cloud of steam rolls up around Crash as the chunk of Hellbender crashes down into the swamp dangerously close, the glowing edges where Shockwave severed it from the ship flash-boiling many gallons of stinking swampwater. SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEECH-pop-pop-THOK! The panel buckles under the sideswiping impact from Quickswitch's strike. However, the Hellbender's hull holds fast, and the cabling seems secure. Suddenly, the air is alive around Quickswitch as several Seekers engage. "That's more like it," he rumbles to himself, gamely savoring the thrill of combat. He transforms back to robot mode, photon blasters snapping to his hands as his feet set down on the creaking hull plating. This sort of engagement is the type that Quickswitch sometimes doesn't do too well in -- other targets have his attention when the biggest menace is still in play. The intonation of the Cyclopean commander is followed too quickly by an all-consuming searing whiteout. The still incandescent, sizzling Wrecker falls with the excised portion of the ship. A tremendous splash of swamp water is immediately blotted out by billowing gouts of steam from the impact of falling, superheated metal. "Something has tethered itself to me," Shockwave sends back, accelerating his rockets to pull upwards against the chain, trying to pull whatever's on the other end of it up into space. "It redirected my aim at a critical juncture. Continue with the operation. I will deal with it shortly." Robotic Bald Eagle is in the path of the beam, and, having not budged an inch, is caught in its full effect! "Waarrrrk!" he croaks out, waving little skeletal limbs that used to be his wings. Yes, Shockwave's beam blasted off the rest of the magnesium he had unwisely plated himself with, but at least it put out the fire by removing its source. Alas, the little begins to drop to the swamp floor, managing only a weak eye-beam blast at the Six-Changer. Robotic Bald Eagle is in the path of the beam, and, having not budged an inch, is caught in its full effect! "Waarrrrk!" he croaks out, waving little skeletal limbs that used to be his wings. Yes, Shockwave's beam blasted off the rest of the magnesium he had unwisely plated himself with, but at least it put out the fire by removing its source. Alas, the little begins to drop to the swamp floor, managing only a weak eye-beam blast at the Six-Changer. Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle strikes Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet with his Laser attack! Combat: You took 6 damage. Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle 's attack has damaged your Velocity! Crash had himself a tiger by the tail... and somehow he made it out without getting mauled. He cringed back, flinching away from the enormous release of radiation. Luck saves him from getting flattened by the falling chunk of ship as it smashes down into the swamp. Quickswitch soon follows it, Crash is begining to think that on the ground is a bad place to be. He feels Shockwave trying to draw him up and fear, dread settled into him. His chainsaw was quickly produced and used to sever the tie. Catechism gasps as friendly fire isn't (friendly). Oh, Straxus! Panic. Don't panic. She holds the sides of her cone, wincing. The Wrecker has hit the swamp, Shockwave is dealing with the other Autobot... and Americon is falling into the swamp. She should do something, though, and right now, that something is getting the heck out of the way of the falling debris. Catechism transforms to her jet mode, which is quite astoundingly simple for the coneheaded model that she is. Scrapper confirms Shockwave's message somewhat tersely before turning to check the status of the cables holding the ship up. Apart from the damaged one, the others are holding up well, and Scrapper orders the progress slowed so that no additional strain is put on the cables. Obediently the Hellbender's ascent is slowed but, handily, it breaks the atmosphere. Now comes the tricky bit of bringing it into orbit. The interference from Crash did (indirectly) manage to damage the ship, and with the entire salvage operation, cranes and all, nearly under the protection of the Absolution. No matter how cleverly applied the tactics, if there isn't a working chassis behind it, there was no chance of success. The blast from Shockwave had been the deciding factor. As Crash thrashes about, the dank fog clears a bit, only to be split wide by a mech-fluid curdling bay of rage. With a tremendous slap of cracked, leaking forepaw in the shallow water, Quickswitch's assault beast mode rampages up to the other Autobot. At the moment, he is blind to the progress they did make. "We FAILED!!! They got away!! Damn THEM! What was on there that was so important they HAD to have it back?!" There's a vicious swipe from him that whistles through the steamy twilight air, and the trunk of a cypress tree shatters, leaving the poor plant to creak and fall over into the murky water. "We HAVE to let the others know!" Lickety-split, the Wrecker is replaced by a cat with two big honkin' guns on its butt! Combat: Assault Beast takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Shockwave bobs upwards as the weight at the bottom of the chain is released. He transforms and seizes the chain in his right hand, unhooking it from himself and holding it out from his body. His right arm begins spinning rapidly at the elbow with a whirring sound, reeling the chain in to a more manageable length, descending simultaneously to touch down in the swamp. Something has interfered with the mission, and more specifically with Shockwave's coup de grace. Quickswitch would be a burned-out heap of scrap if he had taken the full duration of that beam. Something stopped that. Some factor is running wild. Shockwave's eye sweeps through the fog and he raises the arm with the chain whip dangling therefrom. He aims to correct that unknown factor. Shockwave simply straightens up and rotates in a few places to assume his robot mode. Combat: Shockwave takes extra time to steady itself. Pass The Absolution begins to reverse engines, turning itself about, as it pulls the damaged Hellbender along with it. Gradually, very gradually, the ship is carefully inserted into a stable orbit around the planet. Scrapper, again with that sigh of relief feeling, opens communcation channels with the Absolution's main airlock. "Repair teams, report to the Absolution, and begin surveying the damage." Crash is saved from another long, lonely stay in some medbay or another... but at what cost? With a sense of loss, Crash peers at the severed chain, one link cut short. "'Just a chain.." he consoles himself of his loss. His mourning period is short, terminated by the sudden eruption of Quickswitch's rage. With a startled cry, Crash reels back from the thrashing beast, almost retreating befor he realized who the damned thing was. "Hey, two mechs against a whole retrieval squad? I figger we're doin alright to still be onli-" he cuts short, he hears a familier jingle of metal links. That was his chain. What was his chain attached to? "Aw slaggin pit.." PLOOSH! Americon falls back into the swamps in a great plume of water. The poor bird looks like he's almost completely out of commission. What did the Decepticons want so badly? Not anything on the ship. The ship itself! Building a battlecruiser like the Hellbender without the Autobots blowing it up midway through is is difficult, these days. The F-35 banks around and contemplates retrieving Americon. No one would thank her for it, and some might thank her not to, but... SHING! The whistling chain whipcracks out of the mist with shattering force as a massive purple dominator appears striding steadily towards Crash. "It appears that you are not as destroyed as I had previously believed," declares the dry, emotionless voice from Shockwave's chest, his eye flashing in time. Combat: Shockwave strikes Crash with its Chain Lash attack! -5 The direct address from the other Autobot placates Quickswitch. Dimming optics and lowering his head, he concedes softly, "You're right. We should get out of..." He trails off though as Crash goes back on alert. "I hear it too." And Shockwave emerges. "And SEE it, too." This time, those words emerge from Quickswitch's robot form, charred knuckle servos crackling on the grips of his photon blasters. "Crash, no!!" By reflex too rapid for even his own reckoning, Quickswitch has already squeezed triggers, aiming for that yellow glow. With a flurry of red, green, and white panels, Quickswitch arises in robot form! Combat: Quickswitch strikes Shockwave with his Photon Blasters attack! Quickswitch groans out, intake sharp and ragged. "Crash, we -/NEED/- to get out of here..." Crash says, "I know... Pull back, I'll draw his attention and then make a break for it." Robotic Bald Eagle pokes his head up out of the water, looking around. "Well, that was some HOT action," he mumbles. Quickswitch says, "I'm guessing you have a way off planet if you were able to show up. Don't dally, Shockwave is dangerous because of how implacable he is." Crash is lashed by his very own chain, it snaps out at him, shearing into the metal of his chest and sends him staggering back into a fall. He splashes down into muck and water, a hand clapped over the open wound, sparks and smoke issueing through the gash. "Just built Autobot Tough." he answers for the crime of muddling with Shockwave's assumptions. He rights himself, scrambling to his feet, "And I ain't too eager to give you another chance, Winky." he retorts before transforming. His wheels spin in the swamp before they manage to find traction. He's off in a rush, heading right at Shockwave's lower legs. Crash's head shunts down into his body while his shoulders snap together. A overly complicated bend and twist here and there later and he is a Pick-up Truck! Combat: Pickup Truck strikes Shockwave with his Full Throttle attack! -2 For some apparent reason, there is a conehead in the area. He happens to hover into the area and seems to be focused in on his hands as he looks around. "I am the moron colored face of death! I am the one who will deactivate all that is active! I am the terror that thrusts in the night! I am... THRUST!" Yes, Thrust looks at his black hands and grins, "Oh, if I only had a saxophone right now, I could really JAZZ this place up..." "He ain't goin' down anytime soon, don't be a glory hound!" Quickswitch growls out, limping backward as he attempts to give Crash backup firepower. "Let's MOVE IT." He staggers to a clearing, and wobbily transforms to back to his jet mode, scanning as hard as he can for any incoming hostiles. Rocket booster engines roar to life as this Cybertronian speedily morphs into a sub-orbital jet! Combat: Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from XF-35B Astral Lightning and Decepticon Heavy Warship Hellbender Robotic Bald Eagle tries to hold up a "thumb" from his wings at Thrust, but nearly his entire arm, save for some skeletal structure, was obliterated, so instead he weakly holds up what's left at the Seeker. "Need a ride," he says. Shockwave loses the tip of one of his "ears," more accurately the silver sensor panels on either side of his "head," more accurately his primary sensor cluster module, to Quickswitch's photon shot. He throws a foot back to absorb the impact of the oncoming truck with his other knee, pulsing his maser arm to release a beam of microwaves aimed to fry Crash's innards. "To the contrary, I propose that you do attempt to be a 'glory hound,' as it will mean a significant savings in enriched uranium, inconvenience and time for us both." Combat: Shockwave strikes Pickup Truck with its Irradiate attack! -2 Robotic Bald Eagle sadly mumbles out, "Warrrrrrkk," as his wet form is plucked out of the muck. "No. I replaced the armor in my robot legs with magnesium plating, and somehow it caught on fire! And then Shockwave blasted it all away! I don't understand how it all happened!" What would have been a hit and run is instead turned into a hit and gun when Crash's grill smacks against the sturdy piller of Shockwave's leg. It's a unplesent stop, his trailerhitch feeling like it suddenly wanted to see what his headlights were up to. His back end rocks up and then comes back down. Then comes that gun part, it's good and melty, frying the wrecker truck like a poodle in a microwave, taking a bit of the power out of his horsepower. There's no Big Red Machine to back him up, no manic depressive to keep him company. Crash hits it into reverse, befor veering away, making a run for some brush and cover on his way out. Combat: Pickup Truck begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from XF-35B Astral Lightning , Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet , and Decepticon Heavy Warship Hellbender Shockwave fries a perfectly innocent cypress tree in an attempt to melt/explode a couple of Crash's rear tires, but the visibility is poor and the truck is made for this kind of terrain. Combat: Shockwave takes extra time to steady itself. Pass Thrust gulps, as he listens to Americon. |The parrot can hear what we are thinking! This is totally not good! Totally not!| 'Maybe you mumbled it? Besides, if he can see into our mind, then wouldn't he see nothing?' Thrust then smiles and says, only one word for a minute long. "Ttrrrruuuuuuuuuuuttth!" He then shakes his head, "So, Americon, tell me about this new armor that toasts pretty well?" Robotic Bald Eagle 's head bobbles a little bit as he stares up at Thrust. "It's called Magnesium alloy, and it's lighter than Titanium while still being pretty strong! Doesn't seem to stop burning, though, even in water! It's crazy!" Shockwave cracks his knee joint with an expert pop-click, realigning it with the help of his hand to undo the minor damage it took from being rammed by Crash. "The mission is successful. Decepticons, report." Combat: Shockwave quickly patches up some of its minor injuries. Thrust nods to Americon, "Magneto and Titanium Man." Well I Was Talking Last Night/ Magneto And Titanium Man / We Were Talking About You, Babe, / Oo --- They Said --- 'You Were Involved In A Robbery / That Was Due To Happen / At A Quarter To Three / In The Main Street.' "What are we, Junkion? Seekers don't sing Paul McCartney!" Thrust then looks rather twisted with a grin, "Must be the JAZZ hands..." He tries to hold the sparking body of Americon, "So, we got a shuttle to get out of here, right? Robotic Bald Eagle quavers pathetically in Thrust's grip. Good thing the Decepticon Park and Wildlife Association is here to rescue him, eh? "No idea.... what kyou're talking about... not singing yet... will take requests... though..." He feebly points a wing upwards, where the Absolution awaits.